silent hearts
by doseofdream
Summary: Juvia, a single woman, who was longing for her man to return from a battlefield, and Laxus, a divorced man, who was hoping to reconcile with his ex-wife. Their relationship was strictly professional until one night stand that resulted in her pregnancy.Would they find love in each other? Modern AU. Gruvia/Lavia with Lavia as endgame. FT belongs to Mashima. [on hiatus]
1. Chapter 1

Panic pulsing through her brain cell as Juvia reread the instruction of the pregnancy test in the public restroom. No, she couldn't be pregnant. She was just a twenty-six years old woman waiting for her man to return from the battlefield. She kept convincing herself that she was only missing her periods due to excessive stress at work, or maybe because she was on diet so that when Gray returned, she was still in a great shape. She wasn't pregnant and she couldn't be pregnant. Before seeing the result of her pregnancy test, she took a deep breath. She reassured herself she would breathe a sigh of relief; that she would laugh at herself because it was negative and she was just overreacting.

Her heart pounding and her lungs exhale the warm air rapidly as she urinated on the stick. With a shaking hand, she eventually dared herself to see the result of her pregnancy test.

It was positive.

She blinked her eyes, and told herself that she was just too tired because she was seeing the computer for the whole day. She closed her eyes momentarily to rest her tired eyes, then she opened her eyes again.

It was still positive.

"Shit, this— this can't be true," she murmured to herself.

She tried again the second one with different brand, and it was still the same— it was also positive.

Her breath froze in her lungs and her trembling hands covered her lips as tears ran down her cheeks. "Ju—Juvia is pregnant."

She was feeling so shameful for her impaired judgement that night. If only she could turn back time.

" _Gray-sama, Juvia is really missing you," she giggled drunkenly and let her boss scooped her up to his bed. She had consumed six glasses of vodka at the office party and her boss who drank with her earlier during the party, carried her to his place._

 _He smiled down at her in a drunken, rather disquieting sort of way. "I miss you too," he said, gently laying her down in his bed. He then climbed on top of her, nuzzled her throat and hair, filling his lungs with hers. She moaned while arching her neck, giving him better access, and he gladly complied. His breath over neck was like a warm wave washed over her skin. She was a virgin and she promised herself that she saved herself for marriage. But she decided to break her own promise because she would do it with him. The man that she had always loved._

 _She didn't know how much she had slept that night in his place as she was awaken early with a slight headache. Alcohol never agreed with her. But she was just too tired to get out of the bed and she decided to close her eyes again. Suddenly she felt his hand cupped her tit and squeezed her hardened nipple while his other hand teasing her clit. As she began to moan, he kissed the back of her neck deeply and she was pretty sure it would leave a trail with his tongue._

" _Gr— Gray-sama, stop it," she eventually whispered softly after successfully controlled her breath._

 _Suddenly he stopped kissing her neck. "What? Who is Gray?"_

 _This was not Gray's voice, and all of sudden Juvia remembered that Gray was posted to Crocus, he would not come back to Magnolia until the next few months. Juvia's eyes widened as she recognized this voice. C—could it be? She immediately turned to see the man whom she had spent the night with._

 _It was her boss. Laxus Dreyar._

 **A/N: Short, I know. I am just feeling lazy now to type longer lmao. I still don't tag the pairing because I am not really sure if it's Lavia or Gruvia, although I am leaning towards Lavia now; I think we have too many gruvia in this site? Lmao.**


	2. Chapter 2

_His eyes were also widened, and his mouth opened in shock for a full three seconds. He clearly didn't expect the woman he spent the night with was his own secretary._

" _Juvia," he began haltingly. "I— I thought you were—"_

" _La— Laxus-sama." Her voice was breaking like she might burst into tears at any moment. She was silent for few seconds, trying to remember what happened last night. She was supposed to call a cab for Laxus during the office party because he was drinking too much in his own private office space, but then he offered her to drink with him. She was just trying to be nice to her boss, so she couldn't reject his offer, and she drank vodka with him. After that, she didn't know who started the first move, but she could recall the heat of his body as she pressed against him and how her mouth refused to let his go when he slipped his hands under her skirt and squeezed her round ass._

" _Did— did we—"_

 _Like a puzzle that had just solved itself in brain, she realized that she didn't need to answer her own questions. She slept with her boss and it broke her heart that she was losing her virginity in this way. Her virginity was the only thing that she could give only once to Gray, and now she lost it with a man that she barely knew. She blinked back the rush of tears burning her eyes. She tried to fight her tears, but her tears just fell. "I thought I did it with Gray-sama," she whispered, and her tears were coming harder now._

" _Juvia, I don't know what your problem is, but what's done is done and from now on let's just pretend that it never happened. We are working together and let's just keep it professional, alright?" He stated sternly and it sounded more like an order rather than a question._

 _Her eyes widened at his bluntness. He just said what was on his mind, and he didn't even bother to apologize. And that was not the respond that she expected. However, she knew that he was right. There was nothing that she could do to change the situation; no matter how desperately she wanted to._

The first thing Juvia did when she got home after seeing the result was laying on her bed and pounding her fist on her pillow. She then screamed with tears welled in her eyes, "It was not supposed to happen! Juvia can't have this baby!"

She then cried silent tears of confusion, remorse, fear, and uncertainty. What would she say to Gray? What if he left her because she was having a baby with another man? If she had an abortion soon then maybe Gray wouldn't know that she was pregnant. Maybe she should just have an abortion; her boss wouldn't want the baby either. But then she was not sure if she really wanted to have an abortion. This unborn baby was her flesh and blood too. Maybe Gray wanted to care for the baby together with her, or maybe he would just leave her. This pregnancy was really going to change her life forever.

She needed to talk to someone before she lost her mind, but she didn't know whom to call. She really wanted to talk to Gray, but she was not ready for it. Or should she call Laxus? After all, he was the father of their unborn baby. She was his secretary; she knew his business mobile number, but then it was eleven at night. Was it appropriate to call boss at this hour, especially after they had one night stand a month ago? Wouldn't it be awkward to bring this up after pretending like nothing happened for the past one month?

##

"Did Mira come here today?" Laxus asked as he gulped the whiskey.

"Nope, she didn't. Even if she did, I wouldn't even tell you," answered Cana, pouring a shot of tequila into a glass and added lime juice to another customer.

"Well, then tell her that I need to talk to her if you see her."

Cana rolled her eyes and sighed. "Come on Laxus, just move on with your life. It's been two years. If she wanted to talk to you, she would answer your call."

Laxus scoffed. "Easier said than done." He then looked around the bar. It was the first place where he met Mirajane when she was still working as a bartender. Since memories were all he had left of her, he allowed himself to revisit them often. He vividly remembered the first time he ever saw her. She was always busy making the drinks while talking to customers, washing glasses while talking and laughing with Cana. She had beautiful silver hair in a ponytail and the most beautiful brown eyes he had ever seen.

" _Are you going to order something or are you just going to stare at me?" she began to tease Laxus and her soft voice was just like a music to his ears._

 _Laxus blushed at being caught staring at her, he then cleared his throat before he answered her, "I don't mean to stare. I've been regular here and this is the first time I saw you."_

 _She smiled at him, and he thought it was the most beautiful smile he had ever seen. The kind of smile that he wanted to behold for all time. "My first day here. I'm Mirajane."_

" _I'm Laxus." Then he paused. He was genuinely interested in making conversation with her, but he didn't know how to start. He had never felt making conversation with strangers before, but she was different; he wanted to get to know her better._

" _Laxus, I'm pretty busy today. Here, a mug of Heineken for you. My treat." She winked before she moved on to other customer._

" _Thanks, Mira."_

 _She turned her head to see him again, and a delighted smile flashed across her face. He returned her smile, wishing she could read the words he longed to say within his gaze._

 _As Laxus was about to drink the beer, he then saw a piece of tissue with her phone number written below the mug of Heineken, and she added one sentence right after her phone number. "Call me, Mira."_

Suddenly his business mobile phone rang, interrupting his musing. He wondered who could have called him at this hour. He didn't recognize the number, but he just answered, "Hello."

"Laxus-sama, this is Juvia."

He was startled at first; not sure if it was because he heard her voice again after office hour or because a flash of memory of them sleeping together appeared. He would not deny his physical attraction to her; that he daydreamed about her bare skin underneath the layer of her office attire, or what it would feel like to touch her soft creamy white skin when he was sober. But he would never act on his fantasy. She was his secretary and he had to respect her as a woman.

He maintained his composure before he answered her. "Yes, what is it about?"

"J-Juvia." From her tone, Laxus realized that it was not work-related, and he could sense that she was going to talk about the one night stand one month ago. Before she opened her mouth again, Laxus decided to act fast. "This is my business phone number, so if it's not related to business, I'm going to hang—"

Juvia immediately blurted out before he hang up the phone. "Ju—Juvia is pregnant!"

 **A/N: Aww thanks so much guys. I'm really happy that some of you find Lavia adorable. Thank you for following, favoring, and reviewing. Reviews are greatly appreciated! :D**


	3. Chapter 3

"Ju-Juvia is pregnant!"

Her words spiked the spring air around him, yet his face didn't show any single trace of emotion beyond controlled panic. "Is that my child?" he asked carefully as if he feared her answer.

His bitter tone burned her chest. She was capable of hiding her emotion during the past one month after that undesirable incident, but she couldn't do it anymore. It took all of her courage to tell him and that was his first reaction, _"Is that my child?"_

"Is Laxus-sama accusing Juvia of fraud?" The hurt in her voice burned.

Laxus sighed. "Did you hear my question? I'm only asking you if that is my child."

She took a deep breath before answering, "Yes, it's your child." Her voice was strained with emotion. He couldn't want her child. She was certain that he would help her get an abortion. Why would a Chief Operating Officer want to have a baby with a secretary?

She was relieved if he wanted her to have an abortion, but was also sad, and unsure of what she really wanted. She had always wanted to have a baby with the right person for her; with Gray. Their friends were married and having babies together, and if often made her wonder what it felt like to be a mother. She placed a hand over her still-flat tummy and whispered to herself, "If only you were Gray-sama's…"

"Are you home?" His question stuttered her. She didn't expect that he was asking her whereabouts.

"Yes."

"Text me your address and I'll be there shortly," he then immediately hang up the phone without giving her a chance to answer.

"Wow, somebody is going to be a father. Let me guess, is it your virgin secretary?" Cana asked with a mischievous smile.

Laxus raised his brow and scoffed. "How did you know?"

"Well, you told me few days ago."

He rolled his eyes. It must be his stupid drunk talk.

"You thought she was Mira," she still continued teasing him.

"Shut up Cana, I've got to go." He put some money on the bar, including a nice tip, and left without finishing his drink.

##

Laxus didn't expect that he had to drive so much to reach Juvia's apartment. She lived very far away from the city, and he bet it took her over an hour and half with public transportation to the office.

She lived in a decent apartment and the moment he entered her place, he realized that she had been living in a studio apartment. She led him into the living room, where he sat down on a pale sofa while she poured hot tea into his cup.

"You don't have scotch?" he asked, sipping from it as she sat across from him.

"Juvia doesn't really drink," she answered and she could hear fear in her own voice as she kept her gaze fixed on the table. _Is he going to ask Juvia to have an abortion?_ She thought she was ready if he's telling her to, but she was wrong. She would never be ready for this conversation.

"Juvia, let's just get married."

Her eyes widened and she began to look up at him in disbelief. Did she just hear it wrong? Did he just propose her? She should ask again for clarification. "What did Laxus-sama say?"

"You heard me. Let's get married."

Her jaw dropped. She thought he would ask her to get an abortion, but she'd never expected a proposal of marriage. "Isn't Laxus-sama going to ask Juvia to have an abortion," she asked carefully.

Laxus frowned. It had never crossed his mind that there were always plans to get rid of any of his seeds. He always wanted to reconcile with Mirajane, his ex-wife. He had never thought before to start a new family with someone else other than Mirajane. But now knowing that he had a chance to be a father again, he didn't want to let it go. His arms were longing to hold his child and as a father, it was his duty to take care of the mother of his child.

"No, why would I?" he asked back.

"But we don't love each other. We can't just get married because of a child! And Juvia is still waiting for Gray-sama…"

He remembered the name; the name of a man that she thought she was sleeping with.

"Is he your boyfriend?"

"No, but he promised to give Juvia an answer after he's done with his mission," she said, swallowing hard. "But Juvia believes that he also loves Juvia."

Laxus huffed a quiet laugh. "Juvia, I don't know if you are just being devoted to your imaginary boyfriend or you are just being foolish. I don't know how long he has made you wait and I don't care, that's none of my business. Look, you're a pregnant with my child and I am offering to be your husband, so you don't have to care for your child alone—"

"What if Juvia wants an abortion?" she cut him off with an edge at her voice.

Laxus wanted to scream, 'don't you fucking dare,' and threatened her not to harm his child, but he figured he needed to remain calm rather than threatening and scaring her.

He leaned across the table, and looked at her in the eyes. "I don't want you to have an abortion, and I tell you this not as your boss, but as the father of _our_ child," he stated sternly.

She sighed in exasperation. "Laxus-sama, why are you doing this to Juvia? Most men would be happy if the women don't put them through hell after a stupid one night stand."

He also didn't know why he insisted to have the child with a secretary that he had just work with for six months, but he didn't want his seeds to disappear forever. However, he knew that it was her body too, and she would have the final say about the life of their child. "Do you really want to have an abortion?"

She didn't dare to answer right away and look at him in the eyes. It took her a while before answering him, "Juvia is not sure, but she's thinking about it."

He breathe a sigh of relief so he still had a chance to change her mind. He began to negotiate chances to let his seeds grow. "Juvia, I know you love this Gray person, you don't want to marry me and you're still not sure if you want to have an abortion, and that's completely fine. When will Gray come back from a mission?"

After a tense moment, Juvia looked up at him, and answered him, "He should be back within three months."

"Ok, how about I set you up in an apartment near the city. That way it would be easier for you to go anywhere you like. And I will pay all of your bill."

He jaw gaped open. "All of my bill?"

"Yeah, taxi, doctor's bill, food, clothes, you name it. I will pay all of your bill with one condition: give our child a chance for this three months before this Gray person comes back "

"Juvia still doesn't understand. Why would Laxus-sama do that for Juvia? What if Juvia really wants abortion later on?" she asked defensively.

"Then do what you want, but the deal is off by the time you decide an abortion."

He knew he was taking the risk with this deal. He would be left heartbroken if she wanted to have an abortion, but he knew any risk was worth it; to give their child a chance to live. He promised himself he would change her mind within this three months.

 **A/N: I don't have specific schedule for update; I'm just updating whenever I have chances. Anyway thank you for the reviews. You are lovely!**


	4. Chapter 4

Juvia put her hands over her mouth so as to control her tone, but she failed terribly. She couldn't stop admiring the moment she entered the palatial penthouse. She whispered in a barely audible voice, "Laxus-sama promised Juvia an apartment, but this is not an apartment."

He had said that her clothes were in this penthouse, but she wasn't sure which way to go to find her bedroom. He said that if she was starving, she could just go the kitchen, but she wasn't sure how she could find the kitchen.

Laxus shrugged. "This is what I have near the city."

"B-but nobody would believe that a secretary's salary could afford this place. And when Juvia' tummy's growing bigger, th- then people would assume that Juvia has a sugar daddy."

He sighed, "Well, I asked you if you wanted to marry me and you declined—"

She cut him off. "We don't love each other! And Juvia is still waiting for Gray-sama."

"Yeah whatever, follow Virgo. She will show you your room," he said, introducing Virgo as the housekeeper to Juvia.

"Hello Juvia-san, please follow me," said Virgo with a warm smile, and Juvia just smiled back. She couldn't believe that Laxus had a housekeeper for this place. She had never realized that Laxus was a very wealthy man. As she entered her bedroom, she was mesmerized by the large window that gave her the view of the city, streets, and a park below. She was amazed when she realized her room had a sliding door to a private rooftop swimming pool and garden.

Juvia had to pinch her cheek to make sure she was neither dreaming nor hallucinating. She eventually asked Virgo, "Are you sure this is Juvia's room?"

Virgo nodded. "Yes, Juvia-san. Your suitcase is here."

The room was big too big for her as she only had two suitcases from her apartment. "Please enjoy yourself while I'm preparing your meal."

"Thank you Virgo-san. Are you living here as well?"

Virgo smiled at her. "No, Juvia-san. I am only here from noon until 6 pm."

"Wait, can Juvia come with you? Juvia is afraid if she's lost…"

##

As Juvia got into the kitchen, she saw Laxus was already sitting at the kitchen table. He signaled her to sit across from him, and she obeyed. "Do you like your room?" he asked.

"Actually it's too big for Juvia. But thank you for your kindness Laxus-sama."

"That's great. My room is right next to you."

Her eyes widened. Did she hear it wrong again? His room was right next to hers?

"Laxus-sama, you are living here?" she asked carefully, trying to avoid giving any offense.

"Yes, I am."

She wanted to scream, "that's not part of the deal," but no voice formed in her stilled throat. As if Laxus could read her mind, he continued, "With all respect Juvia, that's also my child. I do have the right to be there for my child too. You might not like it and I don't care as long as you respect me as the father of our child." The firmness of his tone made her uncomfortable to argue.

"Juvia understands Laxus-sama, but how will she explain the whole situation to Gray-sama?"She shrugged an acknowledgement, less confident than when she first spoke.

"Why would you need to explain your situation to a man that's not yours?"

His blunt question made her normally ready tongue stilled to silence. Who did he think he was? How dared he speaking to her like that when he didn't have any clue of her relationship with Gray? It hurt her own throat to hear his blunt question. It hurt a lot.

Her voice was as sour as vinegar as she spoke, "Laxus-sama doesn't know Gray-sama at all. Yes, Gray-sama has made Juvia wait for years. Gray-sama always tries to push Juvia away. But Gray-sama has promised Juvia that he would be back to her. He even thanked Juvia for always being there for her like no other women had."

Refusing to spare him another glance in case he saw pain in her eyes, she stood and left the kitchen. As Laxus watched her go, he began to frown. Was she criticizing him when he was the one who should criticize her? Maybe it was all her pregnancy hormones. He remembered how Mirajane was also getting all emotional when she was pregnant. And he began to sigh; being a baby sitter for the mother of his child was really a hard work.

##

After few hours, he began to knock her door. He knew the rules very well; when a woman cried out, he had to wait until she was calm before he could talk to her.

However, after knocking several times, she still didn't answer him. Maybe she was falling asleep, he thought. It was 5 pm, and it would be nice to take a long bath at this hour. He knew Virgo would have filled the bath with hot water thirty minutes earlier and it would feel good on his skin. So he decided to go for it. He removed his clothes and pants, leaving him clad only in a boxer. He then went to the bathroom inside his bedroom. After locking the bathroom door, he stripped off his boxer. As he was about to get into the tub, his eyes widened. He saw Juvia's naked body with bubble-bath soap decorating her wet skin in the same tub. He stood there before her completely naked. She was just staring him, marveling in his amazing muscular strength of his perfect body. His arms were beautiful with well-defined biceps and triceps. His broad shoulder was pounded with thick muscles as well. His chest and stomach looked so contoured too. When her eyes dropped lower to his lower body, her face reddening in embarrassment. Realizing that Laxus was also staring at her, she leaned forward and rested her breast on her knees and screamed, "Don't look!"

Her scream snapped him back into reality. "I'm sorry! I don't mean to! I'm leaving now," he said, turning his body to grab one clean towel that hung neatly on the towel rack.

No, he wasn't feeling sorry at all, and he definitely wanted to see more and more of her skin. He would not deny that he missed her soft, creamy skin under the layer of her office attire.

He had seen her naked before. He had seen her as indelicately as a man could ever see in a woman. He knew he was not sober at that time, but he still vividly remembered every inch of her body that he had explored, and he believed she did too. So why she was still embarrassed? She was even pregnant with his child, for God's sake!

After quickly wrapping a towel around his waist, he tried to unlock the bathroom door, but it still didn't open. He tried again, pushing the door harder, but it wouldn't budge.

"Why are you still standing there?" She asked harshly.

He groaned, "I cannot open the door, okay? We are locked here!"

"What?!"

Laxus quickly grabbed another clean towel on the towel rack and stretched his arm to offer her the towel, without turning to her. "Here, take this."

Juvia was hesitated at first. "You won't look, will you?"

Laxus sighed, "I don't even know whether you are still in the tub or not."

She then stood and got out of the tub. The air, cooler on her body, gave her goosebumps and she shivered for a second. She then walked closer to Laxus to grab the towel. "Thanks," she whispered. Laxus only nodded. She then wrapped it around her body.

"Don't worry, Virgo will be here shortly. She always comes to see me before she leaves," he said.

"Oh," was all she managed to say.

"Can I turn?"

Even though she was wrapped in a towel, she still felt like she was still naked, and she burned with embarrassment at his question. Why didn't he have any modesty? Why did he make it sound as if it was common to talk while naked?

"No, Laxus. Please don't turn," she yelled in panic.

"Alright, chill. I won't turn. What are you doing anyway in my bathroom?"

Juvia narrowed her eyes. "What are you talking about? This is Juvia's room."

"No, Juvia. Your room is next door. This is MY room," he insisted.

Suddenly she felt so stupid for not recognizing her own room. "Juvia is sorry! They look the same!"

He glared awfully, he wanted to tell her how stupid she was for not recognizing her own room, but he found his tone softened instead. "That's okay. It's your first time here. I want to apologize for earlier. I am sorry that I hurt your feeling."

"No, Juvia should be sorry instead. Laxus-sama was right, Juvia was overthinking it. Gray-sama is not even her man, but Juvia won't give up. Juvia will always love Gray-sama, and she will convince Gray-sama to raise this child together with him."

Laxus felt like he wanted to bang his head against the wall. How could this woman be so stubborn or so innocent or maybe just so dumb? That man must be either an angel or a moron if he wanted to raise a child that is not his. And heck no, he didn't want Juvia to raise their child with another man. It was his child; he should be the one who's watching his child growing up and showering his child with love, not Juvia's "imaginary" boyfriend.

"Juvia, I also love my ex-wife, but it doesn't mean that I can get what I want."

"You were married before?" She sounded surprise, and Laxus wanted to knock some sense into her. That was not the point that he wanted to convey. He wanted to tell her that she could not always get what she wanted, but she only seemed to hear the word ex-wife.

He sighed. He didn't want to talk about his failed married life. How pathetic he was after Mirajane left him. She didn't need to know his boring life. "Yea, I was married before, but that's not the point—"

Suddenly they heard someone knocking the bathroom door. "Laxus-san, I am about to leave. I have prepared the dinner in the kitchen. Thank you Laxu—"

"Virgo, can you open the door from outside? We are locked here," Laxus yelled.

"Alright Sir." Virgo immediately complied. She tried to push the door open, but it didn't work. Then she tried to unlock it with a paperclip, and eventually the door was opened. Juvia immediately jumped into Virgo, "Thank you so much Virgo! You come to my rescue!"

Virgo blinked several time. She asked softly, "Juvia-san, aren't you cold?"

"Huh? What are you talking about?" She then looked down and she had just realized her towel was gone. She was all naked, stood before Laxus. She gulped, and she turned her head slowly to see his reddening face as he examined her body from head to toe. This was the first time he realized that Juvia's body was so physically toned and voluptuous at the same time, and now more than ever he desperately needed a release.

For the second time she screamed as she frantically reached for her towel that was on the floor. "Don't look!" she then marched to her bedroom after wrapping the towel around her body. Her heart raced as she jumped into her bed and turned her face into pillows in an attempt to hide her shame.

"Laxus-san, I will go to her room—," Virgo asked for his permission, but he shook his head. "No, just go home now."

"But Juvia-san—"

"I said, you can leave now. Thank you for unlocking the door," he cut her off, and she nodded before she left his room.

After making sure that nobody was in his room, he then stood behind the bathroom door and whispered to himself, "Sorry Virgo, I don't mean to be rude, but—"

He then looked down at his erect penis standing up and out from his groin. "I cannot let anyone sees this."

Since beginning, he knew he would not be able to see her the same way again after that one night stand, and he had promised himself he would never act on his fantasy. But tonight would not be the same.

 **A/N: I'm so embarrassed writing this chapter. I'm sorry it was a terrible bathroom scene; I had done my best, but I know it's still horrible. I'm terribly sorry that I messed up.**


	5. Chapter 5

Laxus always woke up very early, but he never thought that Juvia could wake up way earlier than him. As he was stepping out of his room, he smelled something delicious smells coming from the kitchen. He walked through the kitchen, and he saw Juvia was standing next to the table with the blue robe on. She was humming gently as she put two bowls of miso soup and a plate full of Goyza dumplings on the dining table. She didn't seem to realize that he was watching her, and he just couldn't take his eyes off her— especially after yesterday. He still remembered her beautiful bare body yesterday: her large breasts, her small waist, her nice round ass and her mouthwatering full hips swaying side to side. Not to mention her long, beautiful legs. She was like a sponge; absorbing his heat and his maleness into her soft, curvy body. He was desperately hoping that she realized that she was being eye raped and she would slap him and yell at him to leave her alone.

But it didn't happen.

When her eyes met his, her cheeks flushing red and she lowered her gaze on the meal. She asked timidly, "Laxus-sama, Juvia is making some dumplings and miso soup, do you want some?"

Her quiet, unexpected offer startled him, and he cleared his throat. "No, thanks. I will go exercising."

She nodded; still not daring to look him in the eye, and he went down to the park. He was itching to touch her, to palm her breasts and taste them.

Hence, he needed to leave her before he gave in to the dark needs.

But he knew he could not avoid her forever. She was his secretary and she would be the mother of his child too. He began to wonder if it was the right decision to live together with Juvia.

##

Laxus just had the longest day in the office. It was so awkward; realizing that only a door separated his office from Juvia's desk. Even hearing her voice over the phone made him so uncomfortable in a way that he couldn't define.

He had no experience of seducing women, but he didn't need to.

Because women found him irresistible, and they would throw themselves at him.

He didn't discourage them either. He just couldn't help himself. He adored everything about women: he loved their soft curves and the warmth of their beautiful skin.

But Juvia was different from all women he had met his entire life. She had fallen in love with a man that did not reciprocate her feeling. Yet, she loved him with a naïve, hopeless, and very innocent passion.

He typically avoided this type of woman. Yet, he still _desired_ her body.

He had never experienced this jolt of such darkest desire; demanding to be fueled, fed, and devoured. His mind clouded with feelings that he himself was too ashamed to admit.

Wild. Desperate. Dangerous. Frantic.

He figured he would stay in his own office; kept himself occupied with work and went home after she had left. So he stayed until eight. He then came out, and decided he could use some drink in Cana's bar before he went home. His eyes widened when he saw Juvia was still on her desk, filing some paperwork. "You're not leaving yet?" he couldn't hide his shock. She looked up at him for a moment, then turned away before he could see her face turned as red as brake light. "Juvia couldn't leave until Laxus-sama finishes his work. In case Laxus-sama needs Juvia."

Surprised by her answer, he looked at her. He had no idea that was the reason why she had always stayed later than him. He knew she was a reliable and trustworthy secretary, but it never crossed his mind that she worked overtime because of him. She was concerned if she left before him, he wouldn't be able to find anything that he needed. She was willing to stay when she didn't need to, and she never brought this up to him, even after they had lived together. Literally, she had been so unselfish.

That moment, he realized she was much more than just a pretty face with beautiful body. She might be a complete fool, but she had been a kind and caring soul. He had never felt as ashamed of himself as he did now for objectifying her.

Clearing his throat, he eventually told her, "Juvia, let's go home."

"J-Juvia will take a bus."

He frowned. How long would they avoid each other? He blurted out, "Juvia, we are living under the same roof. It's inevitable sometimes that I see you naked and likewise."

Suddenly a starburst of embarrassment exploded inside Juvia. She closed her eyes, trying hard to block out the memory that had happened between them five weeks ago in the hotel room and yesterday.

She turned her face to cover her shame. "Laxus-sama, you don't need to remind Juvia—"

"Listen to me Juvia. You've been obviously avoiding me for the whole day and so have I."

She asked innocently, eyeing him with astonishment. "Laxus-sama's also been avoiding Juvia?"

Disregarding her question, he continued, "I don't want to play dodge game anymore. Let's play throw and catch. This time I throw the ball, and you catch the ball. What do you say?"

She thought about what he had just said and she eventually nodded in agreement.

"Great. I'm starving. Let's go to a bar."

"But this morning Juvia prepared some beef to cook."

"Cook tomorrow. It's pretty late."

"But we cannot afford to get caught by our co-workers."

He scoffed. How did he forget that they couldn't be seen together outside office at this time being?

"I can order some fast food then we can eat at home," he suggested.

"Juvia can cook some beef stew. It's healthier than fast food," she insisted.

He scratched his chin, struggling not to sigh. He didn't see the point of arguing over meals with a woman— he would not win it anyway. "Fine, you're asking for it."

Her lips curled up into a smile. A smile that originated from her heart. A smile that brightened her eyes. There was something magical in her eyes that made his heart beat faster and made his hormone stir restlessly. He had to take a huge gulp of air before he told her, "Let's go home then."

##

As Juvia tasted the soup and added a pinch of salt, her phone rang. Without scanning who was calling, she just picked up the phone.

"Hey Juvia."

She was surprised when she heard a very familiar voice on the other end. "Love rival!" she murmured surprisedly.

Lucy breathed a weary sigh. "Juvia, you still have the wrong idea." She almost gave up explaining to Juvia over and over again that she had no romantic feeling whatsoever to Gray. But Juvia was Juvia. She's possessive in love. Once she recognized that Gray was the only man she's been waiting for, she would not change her mind. She took pride in her devotion for Gray, which Lucy admired, but sometimes she couldn't stand her unreasonable jealousy, either.

But Juvia was still a friend that Lucy treasured, and likewise, Lucy was a very important friend for Juvia too.

Juvia smiled over the phone, hoping Lucy knew she was smiling. "What's up Lucy-san?"

"Actually I am right in front of your apartment, but it seems you're no longer here."

She almost spit out her soup once she heard that Lucy was— in Crocus? Stay calm, stay calm, thought Juvia, as she took another breath.

She then tried to keep her tone as calm as possible before she asked, "Juvia already moved out. What brought Lucy-san here?"

"It's my job. They sent me here for a week to interview some successful businessmen in Crocus. Juvia, actually I have a favor to ask. Where do you live now? Can I come?"

A small explosion of panic whumped in her stomach. It's okay, stay calm and think of reasonable excuse Juvia! She thought.

"Juvia is sorry, but Juvia is tired. We can meet up tomorrow during Juvia's lunch hour. But what can Juvia do for Lucy-san?"

"I need to interview your boss. Some journalists have tried to, but Laxus always declined interviews."

Suddenly an idea flashed swiftly across her mind— a brilliant idea. If she could matchmake Laxus and Lucy— Laxus might leave her alone and Lucy would no longer after Gray.

"Don't worry Lucy-san, leave the rest to Juvia. Juvia will talk to Laxus-sama!" She exclaimed excitedly.

"You're sure it's alright? I don't want you to be in trouble Juvia," Lucy said with concerned tone.

"Juvia will be fine. Juvia will call you after she talks to Laxus!"

"But Juvia—"

Juvia immediately hang up the phone. A hope of getting Gray welled inside her and her heart jolted. Why didn't she come up with this brilliant idea earlier?

##

Laxus arched his brows. "Interview with Sorcerer Magazine?"

Juvia nodded. "Juvia's love rival— no, Juvia's friend is a journalist and she wants to interview you."

"Not interested," he replied as he swallowed the soup.

"Laxus-sama, we are still playing throw and catch. This time Juvia is throwing the ball," she insisted.

He breathed a weary sigh. She was not as stupid as he thought. "This time I pass."

"Then Juvia won't go to see the doctor this week," she threatened.

A frown settle on his face. "That's cheap using our child to force me for an interview," he groaned.

"For God sake, this is only an hour interview Laxus-sama!" she raised her tone.

If only Juvia was not pregnant with his child, he would have strangled her. But he knew he had to stay calm and in control. "Fine, set appointment with your friend then," he said in flat, dead tone.

She grinned, satisfied that her plan to set them a 'date' was successful. "Thank you, Laxus-sama!"

Little did she know her plan would backfire.

 **A/N: sorry I was in a rush when I finished this chapter. Not much time to check my work. Happy new year!**


	6. Chapter 6

Laxus totally had no clue how the heck that Juvia set him an interview with Lucy in a French café near the city after office hour. It was a special place for Crocusians with a romantic ambiance that made it ideal for couples to spend their time together. Couldn't he just have the interview in his office during office hour? He began to smell something fishy about her plan.

As he walked behind the waiter, he saw a beautiful blonde woman. She moved forward in acknowledgement and he smiled at her for he still liked to look at beautiful women. She stretched out her hand to shake his, "My name is Lucy Heartfilia. I am the journalist of Sorcerer's magazine. Pleasure to meet you, Laxus-san."

Laxus reciprocated and shook her hands firmly. "I'm Laxus Dreyar. Pleasure to meet you too."

Without any further comment, he then pulled the chair out for her. "I don't know that Juvia-san has a gorgeous friend," he said.

She smiled, shyly, getting all butterflies. "Thank you," she murmured as she sat down.

He then pulled the chair out for himself, and sat across her. "Well, Lucy-san, I'll be honest with you. I've never entertained interviews before. I am here because you are Juvia's friend."

Lucy seemed to stare right through him with lots of questions flew through her mind. Before she opened her mouth, Laxus added, "This goes off record, right?"

Seeing her nodded, Laxus continued, "We will still have the interview with one condition."

"What will that be?"

He smirked, "Don't worry, it won't be much."

##

Juvia was watching TV in a living room, even though she didn't put any attention to whatever she was watching. She kept daydreaming how good their date might be. Lucy was smart, beautiful, nice, and sexy. There was no way he would not fall for her. Laxus— well, he was a stubborn and an irrational man. It would be more challenging to fall for a man like Laxus, Juvia thought, but at least it would keep Lucy busy with a man other than Gray. She smirked at the possibility of her winning Gray, with less love rival. As she laid on the couch, the doorbell rang. She wondered, wasn't it too early for Laxus to be home? She then rose and went to the door, opening it without looking at who was on its other side. "Laxus-sama—"

Her words stopped before they reached her lips. She saw a beautiful brunette with a beaming smile right in front of her. "Hi, I am Cana, I am looking for Laxus."

Juvia took a quick scan on her and realized that Cana had his jacket on her right hand. "Are you—"

Reading her thought, Cana began to tease her, "I am his girlfriend."

Juvia didn't know why, but suddenly she felt uneasy. She was feeling a knot in her stomach, and she didn't understand it. "You are his girlfriend?" She repeated the words with hesitation.

Cana laughed, "I'm just messing with you. I am a bartender, so I chat with him whenever he is in the bar. Here," she stretched out her arms to hand his jacket to Juvia. "He forgot his jacket last week in the bar. I called, but he never came to pick up. And today I am not working, so I stop by his place."

Juvia still didn't seem to believe Cana. Heck, Cana had just made her flustered; made her stupid hormone stirred restlessly. "Then how do you know his address?"

"Well, I am a best friend of his ex-wife. So I know his houses and apartments. You must be his secretary, right?"

Juvia reluctantly nodded as she took his jacket, "Yes, Juvia is his secretary."

Cana grinned, "So how was he in bed?"

Juvia's face turned bright red. "How would Juvia know? She was not even sober at that time!"

"I'm just joking. I don't want to know either," she chuckled. "Honestly, I am a bit sad that my regular customer is no longer going to my bar." Cana looked at her warmly and trustfully. "But now I know why, and I am happy for him."

Juvia raised her brows, but didn't say anything other than translate Cana's words. But she still didn't quite understand. She eventually asked, "What do you mean?"

Disregarding her question, she glanced through her watch and told her, "I have to go now. Here is my name card," she said as she handed Juvia her name card. "Call me anytime," she said with a warm smile before she left Juvia.

After closing the door, Juvia went back to the couch. She was just— confused. She felt confused, and at the same time, _relieved,_ knowing that Cana was only bluffing. Juvia knew that Cana didn't mean to make fun of her, but there was a moment of an ache in her chest, a churning in her stomach, and a bitterness in her throat when she taunted Juvia the idea of Cana being his girlfriend. She shook her head. She wanted to get rid of him, so why would she feel unexpected surge of jealousy. It must be Juvia's stupid pregnancy hormone, she thought. Eventually the exhaustion of denying her own feeling was too much for her and she dozed off into what would be a restless sleep on that couch.

##

As the sun filled her room with light, she opened her eyes slowly and found herself in her room, covered with blanket. It must be Laxus who scooped her up and carried her to her room. She then widened her eyes as she glanced at the clock, and it was seven in the morning. She was panicking as she always woke up at five. She then frantically brushed her teeth, took shower, and put on her office attire. She then ran to the kitchen, to at least find some bread for a quick breakfast.

"Hey, no running in this house," a familiar voice from the kitchen ordered.

"Sorry Virgo-san," she didn't continue her words when she realized it was Laxus in the kitchen. Laxus moved his head, annoyed. "You do know that Virgo is only here when we're not here, right?" he asked, his tone just as annoyed.

Juvia only stared at him as he put some eggs and bacon on her plate. "What are you looking at? Eat some," he said.

"This is for Juvia?" she asked innocently, and Laxus nodded, "Yeah."

"Awe, thanks Laxus-sama. Oh Laxus-sama, how was your date with Lucy-san?" She asked. She didn't know why she asked. She didn't even want to know. She wanted to cover her ears and hide under table. But too late.

"It went very well. She was a very nice person. In fact, I'm going to see her tonight."

 **A/N: I knew it's short. But I have a full time job now and a family to take care of after working, so I will just update whenever I can, even though is short. Thank you for the reviews. You're lovely!**


	7. Chapter 7

"What?" she gasped in utter disbelief. The amazed disbelief in her face shot uneasiness through him. Yet, he didn't flinch, or stutter. "I said that she's a nice person and I am going to see her again tonight."

Juvia always knew what she wanted. She always loved Gray. She thought of him very sweetly, and daily expected some news of him. Even though he had never responded to her mails and text messages for all these months. But she wasn't planning to give up on him, either.

Now Laxus came into her life, and she innocently thought she could keep it platonic with him. But now she was confused by what she was beginning to feel for him. Was it love? This was only temporary arrangement and it was not supposed to becoming something more than that. Or could it be just her insecurity again, that Lucy always seemed to be more popular than her? It was completely ridiculous, she knew that. Pathetic, even. How could she be jealous for Lucy's happiness? She was a very important friend to her, for God's sake!

"Oh yeah, Lucy-san is a nice person. She's very beautiful and smart. She's a journalist of Sorcerer's Magazine and that's a huge deal," Juvia replied, her tone overly jovial, like she was acting happy for everyone's sake. She smiled at Laxus, but her large blue eyes betrayed her. Her smile faltered as she realized she'd been caught faking.

"Gray must've been a fool. He doesn't realize what he has been missing."

"Yeah, Juvia also wonders why he couldn't just be honest with Lucy-san," she said, swallowing a bite of bacon. She knew she should be happy for Lucy, regardless whether she would end up with Gray or Laxus. She would be devastated if Lucy chose Gray, and she might be feeling an ache of missing Laxus if Lucy chose him. But Juvia knew they both were amazing men and either one would make her happy. And her happiness also mattered for Juvia.

"No, I am talking about you."

She stopped chewing the food. Her eyes widened at his answer, and felt entirely at a loss for words. Despite the silence, he clearly saw the questions that chased each other through her eyes.

A flush crept up his cheek, and he rubbed the back of his neck. He cleared his throat, and managed to change the subject. "Come on, we'll be leaving in ten minutes."

"Okay, Juvia is almost done here!" she said, rushing to chew the rest of her meals.

"Hey, slow down. You'll choke yourself," he then sighed, "Never mind, take all your time."

As he turned to wash his dishes, she smiled and whispered, "Thank you, Laxus-sama."

##

It was eleven at night, and Laxus didn't seem to reach home yet. Juvia kept scanning at her phone, yet she didn't see any text messages from Lucy or Laxus. Could it be that Laxus would spend the night with Lucy? No matter how many times she told herself it was for Lucy's happiness, she was still feeling uneasy with them spending the night together. Could it be that she really fall for Laxus? She shook her head. How could she fall for two men at the same time? That was not possible. Eventually her phone rang. She frantically reached her phone and found out it was Lucy. She decided to let it ring again hoping not to seem anxious, then answered the phone. "Lucy-san?"

"Juvia, turns out I have to go back to Magnolia tomorrow morning, and we haven't even had the chance to meet!" she said with a shade of regret in her voice.

"Oh, that's alright Lucy-san, Juvia plans to visit Magnolia in a month."

Lucy arched her brows. "A month?"

Juvia nodded, "Yeah, in a month Gray-sama will be back to Magnolia, so Juvia is going to take some days off to see him."

"Oh," was all Lucy managed to say. Her tone seemed almost— disappointed?

Juvia began to frown. "What's wrong Lucy-san? Is love rival not happy that Juvia is going to see Gray-sama?"

"Oh no, don't get me wrong Juvia. I just thought that you and Laxus—"

"What— about us?" she asked carefully. Did Lucy find out that Juvia was pregnant with Laxus' child? Her heart began to pound in her ears as words escaped from Lucy's mouth. "I just thought that you and Laxus are together?" Lucy seemed to be uncertain with her own words.

Juvia chuckled, "No, we're not! Lucy-san is the one who went for a date with Laxus-sama."

"Oh that's right, haha." It was an awkward laugh. Juvia knew Lucy still had some words left unsaid, but she decided to let it go. "So Laxus-sama is going to spend the night at Lucy-san's place?"

Before Lucy could answer, Juvia heard the front door was opened and she saw Laxus stood there. "Laxus-sama, you're home?" Juvia asked in disbelief. Lucy narrowed her eyes and asked over the phone, "Laxus-sama? Are you guys living—"

Realizing that Lucy still heard her conversation, she immediately said, "Bye Lucy-san. Juvia has to go." She then hang up the phone.

"Hey, you're not sleeping yet?" Laxus asked as he took off his shoes. Juvia shook her head. "How is your date with Lucy-san?"

"What date?"

Juvia frowned. "This morning Laxus-sama said he's going to meet Lucy-san tonight?"

"Oh, it was great. I found what I want. Now go to sleep, don't forget we have appointment with the doctor tomorrow morning."

Juvia was confused by his answer. He found what he wanted? What did he mean by that? Did she miss something?

"What did Laxus-sama find?"

He smiled mischievously. "That's for me to know and for you to find out," he continued, "Goodnight, Juvia."

Then he shut his bedroom door, leaving Juvia with the puzzle look on her face.

##

"We finish our mission earlier! We're going back to Magnolia in the next two days!" Natsu said as he removed the caps and handed Gray one of the beers. "Cheers," Natsu said. "Cheers," Gray replied. They both took a sip of beer. It tasted like the best beer they've ever had, especially after the gruesome mission, and the fact they could go home way earlier than expected.

"Yo Gray, did you tell Juvia that you're going back to Magnolia in the next two days?"

Gray choked on the sip he had just taken, and placed the beer on the table. He shook his head in the negative as he recovered from choking on his drink. "No."

He then looked up at the cold night sky; embedded with a thousand stars, and his face filled with longing. He once again studied the stars in the night sky that he'd only ever seen with her. With Juvia.

"I am going to see her in Crocus."

 **A/N: it was quite different from what I expected. I found a woman's POV is way more difficult to write than a man's POV maybe because we never know what we really want? Lol. I know there are so many questions left unanswered in this chapter, but you'll find out as the story progresses. Thank you Esketit, imalphagirl, visky, Randoo, guest, and Janell Harris. Your reviews and your support encourage me to update sooner than I expected!**


	8. Chapter 8

It was Saturday morning, and the sunlight was shining into her room through the window. She awakened; she blinked away her sleepiness and sat up, while stretching her arms out. She then went out to the kitchen. She didn't know why, but she was recently craving for ice cream. As she spooned ice cream into a small bowl, she glanced at the clock. It was nine in the morning, Laxus must have been gone for exercising at this hour. She knew his schedule very well. Not only in the office, but also outside office hour. As she slid the first bite into her mouth, the doorbell rang. She sighed, and decided to brush her teeth quickly before she opened the door. Without checking who's on the other side, she just opened the door.

Her large blue eyes widened as she saw Lucy was standing there, right in front of her. Her tongue were even too thick to form words, and so was Lucy. What is Lucy-san doing here? Is she here for Laxus-sama. Do they really— Juvia didn't dare to continue her own thought. Lucy seemed to be reading her emotions chasing each other across Juvia's face. Thus, she felt compelled to get things straight. "Don't get me wrong Juvia, I am here just to return Laxus' phone. He left it in my hotel room."

Hotel room? What was he _doing_ there with Lucy-san? Suddenly she found it was just getting harder for her to breathe; as if the air was stolen from her lungs. She was silent as if afraid of her own emotion. Great, now she was blinded with jealousy again. How pathetic could she have become?

Realizing she was just complicating the whole situation, Lucy frantically added, "No, my heels were broken and I hurt my ankle, so he took me to my room and he left after that, I swear."

Juvia took a deep breathe before she eventually asked, "Really? Nothing going on last night?"

Lucy shook her head. "No, Juvia. We just ate, went to stores, he took me back to my room and he left. That's all. How about you Juvia? Why are you here? I thought this is Laxus' address."

Panic started rising inside Juvia. She had almost forgotten that was the question that Lucy would most likely to ask the moment she saw Juvia in Laxus' place. As she couldn't think of any reason why Lucy found her living in a luxury penthouse, Juvia decided to be honest. "J-Juvia is living together with Laxus-sama."

But Lucy didn't seem to be very surprised.

Instead, she grinned as if she knew this would happen and hugged Juvia. "Congrats Juvia!"

Before Juvia could ask her, Lucy immediately continued, "So how did he propose last night?"

She frowned at her friend. "What is Lucy-san talking about? There was no proposal last night."

"What are you talking about? Laxus is going to propose—"

Lucy just paused when she realized she talked, _maybe_ , a little bit too much, and then that became an awkward silence for a minute.

"What makes Lucy-san think he's going to propose?" Juvia asked in a demanding tone. Lucy flinched at her tone. "Erm…. Because we were looking for a perfect engagement ring for you yesterday?"

Juvia pursed her lips with a bit of frustration on her face. "But Juvia already refused his proposal before."

This time Lucy dropped her jaw. "Juvia, I thought you were jealous just now when I said that Laxus left his phone at my place."

Juvia really didn't know how to answer her. If she was going to be honest with herself, she would have to admit that she'd never been so confused in her entire life. She'd never felt so conflicted about anything in her life and it made her nauseous.

"Ju— Juvia doesn't know. Maybe it's because of her stupid pregnancy hormone—"

"You're pregnant?" Lucy sounded very surprised. Pleasantly so.

Juvia held her friend's both hands tightly. "Lucy-san, promise Juvia that you won't talk about this to anyone else. Please, Gray-sama cannot find out about this. It was just a stupid one night stand. Nothing more!"

"Is it Laxus' child?" She asked carefully and Juvia just nodded.

"But Juvia, if Laxus is willing to take the responsibility, why don't you consider his proposal?"

"Is Lucy-san willing to marry a man that Lucy-san doesn't love?" Juvia asked with a daring tone. Lucy blinked her bright, brown eyes at her before she swallowed. "I— I don't know, but I would consider it if I were pregnant with his child."

"Then how about the man that Lucy-san loved?" she asked, her voice breaking without warning, threatening tears. She swallowed hard and then resumed in that emotionally neutral voice, even though she could feel the tears welling up inside her.

"I would tell him, but it would still be his decision if he still wanted me. But Gray is different from Laxus. Laxus is forty and he's loaded. He's more than ready to be a father. But Gray, he is still twenty-eight and he's even struggling to pay the rent."

Her heart broke when she heard Lucy. She knew her friend was right. Why would Gray want to raise a child that was not his when he was still struggling to pay his own rent? The tear she'd been battling slipped down her cheek before she could fight it back. "Is it the end for Juvia to be with Gray-sama?"

Lucy immediately held the hand that was extended to her, drew Juvia towards her, and gave her a tight hug. Her voice was growing with concern. "I'm sorry Juvia. But Laxus is a nice guy. He does care about you and he thinks of you sweetly."

"No, he only cares about this child. He doesn't care about Juvia!" She paused a while before she continued, "Or maybe— Juvia should just have an abortion," she said, in that breathless, low, dramatic tone.

Lucy began to yell at the top of her lungs. "What? That's ridiculous Juvia. What are you doing that for? For Gray? Or is it just because you are too proud to admit that Laxus cares for you?"

"Juvia doesn't know. Leave Juvia alone!" she said, pushing Lucy away, and slammed the front door right away.

Lucy kept knocking on the door until he knuckles got sore, but Juvia still didn't open the door. But she knew Juvia was still there. She began to weep, resting her forehead against the door. "Juvia, please don't do something that you will regret."

"I need to leave now. Take care Juvia," she said with concern in her tone before she left. As she reached the elevator, she turned her head to see if Juvia was opening the door.

But she didn't.

 **A/N: thank you iamalphagirl and Star197 for the review. You're lovely!**


	9. Chapter 9

"Miss Juvia, the doctor is ready to see you."

Her mind froze as she realized where she was now. She was meeting the obstetrician with Laxus for ultrasound, for the very first time, after 11 weeks of denial.

She dithered. She was, still, in denial. She wasn't sure if she wanted the baby. She wasn't sure if she's ready to be a mom, either. But what she's scared the most of was if Gray would reject both of them.

"Come on, Juvia," Laxus murmured, cupping his hand under her elbow. Feeling her face heat, she let herself being led. She dragged her sight back to him. She thought of what Lucy said. Why couldn't she love Laxus? He was firm, yet his heart was gentle, and he was supportive, too.

And he's willing to give them a chance to be a family, when he knew that he didn't have to.

She heard the door click behind her and sat in the chair with Laxus sitting next to her.

"My name is Dr. Polyusca. Nice to meet you Ms. Lockser, tell me how many weeks?"

"Eleven weeks."

"I will palpate your uterus, then measure your fundal height and we'll do ultrasound afterwards."

"No," Juvia said, which made Laxus look at her strangely. "Juvia— Juvia doesn't want ultrasound."

She didn't want to look at the baby. Not yet. Today she was making a huge leap by seeing an obstetrician, eventually.

"Juvia, it's been 11 weeks. Do something about it," he said sternly, his tone daring her to object.

"Juvia cannot. Ju-Juvia is not ready to be a mom. Juvia is not ready losing Gray-sama."

She had been thinking of termination since she talked to Lucy. She just couldn't afford to lose Gray; not when she eventually could meet him again in a week. Termination had been an option, but deep down she knew, she couldn't lose her flesh, either.

Hearing her blunt answer broke his heart, for he knew how much he loved their child, yet Juvia still chose the man that she'd been obsessed with over their child.

"Juvia, this is my child, too. _Our_ child," he said, surprising her with the ferocity of his tone. Yet, she could also feel the pain coloring his tone, too.

Juvia felt her defense rise. "Juvia is still trying to process this whole pregnancy thing—"

"It's not the place to argue," Dr. Polyusca said in cold tone. Before Juvia could murmur 'sorry,' Dr. Polyusca immediately added, "How about we listen to the heartbeat as first step?"

Juvia nodded and laid back. The second she heard the steady sound of a tiny beating heart, her eyes filled with tears. "This is Juvia's baby." She then turned to see him. When her eyes found his, she held his left hand with her right hand. She then added, her eyes welling with joyful tears, "This is our baby."

He knew their one night stand was a mistake, but the moment he learnt about her pregnancy, he knew he had no regrets. He had been falling in love with their child even before he met him, or her. He may have chosen to keep his thought to himself, but his feelings were clear. He smiled at her, and his eyes were soft with tenderness. "Yes, Juvia this is our baby."

##

One week has passed since their first ultrasound, and they both learnt that their baby was a girl. She began to enjoy her pregnancy; she collected her ultrasound photographs to her pregnancy scrapbook. She couldn't wait to meet her baby. She wasn't afraid because she knew she's not alone with the whole pregnancy thing— She had Laxus, and she knew he would always be there for both of them. When everything seemed to be perfect, she knew the unfair thing about the whole situation was that she still missed Gray, every day.

As she laid down in her room and thought about Gray, her phone eventually rang. It was an unknown number, but she picked it up anyway. "Hello, Juvia." She recognized very well that voice. It was Gray, the man that she'd been waiting for her whole life.

Her eyes welling with tears, "Gray-sama."

"Juvia, I'm sorry I haven't replied to any of your message for the past three months—"

"That's alright, Gray-sama. Juvia is happy that Gray-sama is all safe," she said, trying to wipe away her tears.

"I always keep my promise—"

"Juvia knows. Juvia always trusts Gray-sama."

Her soft tone was filled with tenderness that he melted with it. "Juvia, I'm on train right now. I'll be in Crocus in an hour," his voice filled with longing.

"Juvia will be there. Juvia is really missing Gray-sama."

"It's ten and it's too late. We can meet tomorrow. I know your address," he now hated himself for suggesting something that he didn't really want to. He also wanted to see her, like right now.

Her eyes widened at hearing his answer. She had moved to another place, and now she lived with another man. Not just another man— a father of her baby.

"No, Juvia doesn't mind. Juvia is still doing groceries now and she's nearby the train station. Juvia will be there in an hour," she insisted as she fought the raising panic. She's didn't want him to know that she's pregnant with her boss. Not now.

"What are you doing this late? You need to go home now," he yelled as the more he thought about Juvia was still outside in the dark, the more uneasy he became. Mainly because he knew it was Crocus, the largest city in Fiore with much higher crime rate compared to their hometown, Magnolia, in a small city where everyone knew everyone.

"Gray-sama thinks of Juvia's safety makes Juvia happy," she said with a chuckle.

Gray's face reddened. He hesitated, but eventually he cleared his throat before he continued, "Because you're a very important person to me."

"Gray-sama is also a very important person to Juvia," she smiled.

Gray knew it was not the first time she confessed her feeling. She confessed whenever they met. Yet amazingly, it never failed to make his heart beat faster, but his emotion prevented him from uttering a word.

"I'm serious. Just go home," he said sternly.

"Fine, Juvia will," she lied as she put on her best coat. She didn't care, she was still going to meet him. Tonight.

##

 **A/N: Recently I've lost interest in writing. Hence, this story and all of my other fics will be on hiatus until I find my passion to write again or unless anyone is willing to adopt any of my story. Thank you so much reviewing: animelover1257, Star197, and iamalphagirl. Your reviews are the reason why I update this chapter, despite my laziness to write lol.**


	10. Chapter 10

Laxus heard the sound of a door slamming in the room next to him. "Juvia," he muttered as he opened his door, and he saw her turning her head up to look at him upon hearing his voice.

She was in a navy-blue coat, and her wavy hair hung around her shoulders. She wore some makeup that looked very natural and nobody would be able to guess that she wore any, except that her lips were shining with bold red lipstick. Her lips were the thing of fantasy. And she's stunningly beautiful. How could he have never noticed her beauty the first time she worked for him?

He cleared his throat as he realized that she was about to leave at this hour. "Where are you going?"

"Gray-sama will be here in an hour. Juvia has to go now."

He frowned. "What are you talking about? It's nine thirty," he said in a hoarse tone.

"Yeah, but Gray will be here, and Juvia really wants to see him. Juvia missed him so much," she answered innocently.

"No, Juvia, you're not going anywhere. It's late!" His voice laced with tension.

She rolled her eyes before speaking defensively, "Juvia can go anywhere she likes. Juvia is not a person that Laxus-sama can control!"

"Yes, I can. I am your boss, and I am telling you now that it's too late and you're not going anywhere!" He said in a tone so intense; like the way he scolded her for the first time when she messed up his meeting schedule. But this time was different; He could feel his blood rushed like lighting through his vein, and his breathing was quick and loud. He didn't know why he made a big deal out of it. He could've just offered her a ride to train station if he's worried with her safety, couldn't he? He knew it's all about his pride, too. His pride had been hurt plenty of times before with his ex-wife. Because it had happened too often, he let his feelings got the best of his common sense. He just could not let another woman hurting his pride as a man.

Or probably because he just didn't want her to see Gray anymore? He wasn't sure.

Her big beautiful blue eyes welled with tears. "Then fire Juvia!" She shouted, as waves of emotion overcame her.

"Don't ever come back then!" he yelled as loud and authoritatively as he could. And he regretted soon after she stormed out the house. "Fuck!" He cursed himself for letting his pride took over him, again.

##

Gray's phone rang, and without looking at the name on the screen, he just answered the phone.

"Gray, where are you now?"

He knew the voice very well. It was Commander Erza and when she asked this question, he knew what it meant— She needed him for a secret mission. He sighed before he answered her, "I will be in Crocus in thirty minutes."

"Make a stop right now. Zeref is coming back to Fiore. We need you to head back to Alvarez for undercover operation. Our success really depends on you. Only you can do this."

Gray rolled his eyes. Undercover operation? How long would it take? Years? He knew it was his duty to keep Fiore safe, and he's willing to sacrifice his life for the nation, but how about Juvia? Didn't she deserve happiness after the way he treated her for years?

He knew he needed to get his priority straight. How would he protect Juvia if he couldn't even protect the country they both loved? He would have blamed himself if her next breath would be the last because of him. Because he failed to protect their country.

He cleared his throat before he answered her, "Fine, I'll be there shortly."

He stepped out at the next stop, and looked at his phone one more time. His finger began to type a text message for Juvia, but then his finger stopped moving. He hesitated for a moment, and he looked up at the night sky. His eyes turned in desperate longing to see her, and now when he did have the chance, he had to ruin it, _again._ It would be the best if Juvia didn't know his whereabouts.

He didn't deserve her.

Because he couldn't offer her the love she deserved.

Because someone who's in love would not hurt her the way he hurt her.

He didn't deserve love. He reluctantly dispose his phone to garbage can, and he murmured, "I am sorry, Juvia," before he got on the train heading back to Alvarez.

##

Juvia seated herself in the waiting room. She sighed when she realized that the train was marked up one to two hours late due to sudden heavy storm. However, the thought of seeing him excited her. But the excitement was followed immediately with fear. Fear that he'd reject her and her daughter. Fear that he'd abandon her and her daughter. She paused and made an effort to calm her breathing. She knew Gray very well. He was not the kind of man who would just abandon her. She trusted him with all her heart.

After an hour waiting, the last train had eventually arrived. The train started emptying out all passengers. All awaiting relatives and friends were very excited to see their loved ones arrived safely. Juvia kept searching for Gray, but she couldn't find her. She didn't want to call him at first, fearing that she would ruin the surprise visit. She tensed up after one hour searching him; realizing that he was nowhere to find in the train station. The security officer eventually told her, "Miss, that was the last train, and we're closing now."

"That was the last?" She knew the answer, but she just couldn't believe it, or didn't want to believe it.

The security officer nodded, "Yes, Miss."

She then walked out of the train station. It was raining heavily, and the storm showed little signs of abating. She was cold, terribly cold. She neither had umbrella nor hat. She hastily pulled out her cell phone once she heard it's ringing. _It must be Gray, Gray wouldn't do this to Juvia,_ she thought. But she was wrong once she saw it was Laxus who called her. Disappointed, she hang up the phone, and that's when she realized Laxus had called her plenty of times while she's busy searching for Gray.

She then called Gray, but he didn't answer. Until she heard his voice in the voicemail, "This is Gray, please leave me message and I'll call back at my earliest convenience," then she heard a beep sound. She began to weep, "Gray-sama, where are you? Juvia needs you."

That moment she realized that Gray had just abandoned her again. She knew he must have been sent for another mission. This was not the first time he did this to her.

She was just naïve, and gullible. She trusted him, and she loved him more than she loved her own life. And where did that leave her? Desperate for him? Helpless and powerless?

It was her own fault, she realized, that she got her heart broken again.

Tears of despair streamed down her face. She lowered her head and cried. The sound of her own cries drowned out everything else. Until she couldn't feel rainwater streaming down her face anymore. She then looked up, and realized that a beautiful woman held an umbrella above her head. She has beautiful silver hair, and her eyes were filled with tenderness. Her voice was soothing. "You're going to catch cold. Where are you living? I can take you to your place," she said with a warm smile.

Before Juvia could answer her, she immediately added, "Oh, sorry I didn't introduce myself earlier. My name is Mirajane."

##

 **Star197 and others who are excited to see Gruvia's reunion: sorry that this chapter was such a letdown. I save their reunion for something big :/**

 **Visky: I'm excited to hear from you again! I know what you mean. As much as I love Gruvia, Gray sometimes frustrated me too with the way he treated Juvia. And I figure that we have so many gruvia here, so why not writing lavia? Haha.**

 **Iamalphagirl: yea, it has been slow progress because my chapters are pretty short. I used to write 3k words with my old account, but I am too lazy to write that much recently lmao. Regardless, I am glad that you still read my story and leave review :D**

 **Thank you for your reviews! I do appreciate you guys! :D**


	11. Chapter 11

"Juvia Lockser is unable to answer your call at this moment. Please leave Juvia a messa—"

Laxus sighed again, loudly, before he hang up the phone. He called her numerous time and she never answered. He went to the train station, searching for Juvia, but she wasn't there. Had she gone with Gray? Was it too late for him?

He toyed nervously with the box in his pocket that held the engagement ring that he chose with Lucy. He had taken to carrying the ring with him wherever he went just in case the opportunity presented itself for him to ask Juvia for her hand. He planned to propose her yesterday, but she was sleeping earlier when he got home. He planned to propose again tonight, but she stormed out of the house to chase the love of her life. This woman was insane, and she drove him crazy. He wouldn't even think to propose her if she's not carrying his child. But it's only his job to make sure his child and the mother of his child were well taken care of.

He parked the car on the empty street, and just sat there for a while to calm his mind. His phone rang shortly, and he frantically grabbed his phone. He saw her name on his phone.

"Juvia," he almost shouted as he answered the phone.

But his eyes widened as he heard a very familiar, tender voice that's not Juvia's.

"Hey Laxus, how are you?"

His heart started hammering. "Mi— Mira?" He tried to sound normal, but his voice trembled.

He heard a tiny giggle came from between her lips. "You still remember me?"

Before he found out that Juvia was pregnant with him, he always pictured Mirajane's sweet, loving face smiling at him when he woke up in the morning. He still remembered his ex-wife used to like jasmine flowers, and whenever he smelled the scent, it always brought some damn good memories. When he thought he eventually had his dream came true, Mirajane had miscarriage and she filed for divorce. He had always wanted to reconcile his marriage with her. However, she cut off all ties and contacts with him after she filed for divorce.

He was a brilliant, successful director. He unintentionally amassed more wealth, but his life was empty. He would have gladly given everything away in exchange for his family. He was worried about her and constantly thinking of her. She declined all means of financial support from him after the divorce. He had everything in abundance, and he wish he could share it with her, so she didn't have to go back to her old job.

She couldn't just stay at home, be a trophy wife or work in the office. She had been working as a bartender and a model since she was graduating from high school and that's her life choice.

Life choice that Laxus could never understand.

He closed his eyes. His heart ached, thinking of her. There was a long pause. He cleared his throat before he asked, quietly. "Where's Juvia?"

"I found her at the train station. I was thinking to take her to her place, but she fainted, so I am taking her to my place."

Another long pause. "Where are you now?"

This time there was a brief pause over the phone.

"I am surprised that you haven't changed the key."

He knew what she was talking about.

It was a house they used to occupy together as a married couple. He left everything as it was before she's gone. He didn't even bother to change the key, thinking that she would come back to him eventually.

There were times when Laxus used to go to their house after the divorce. He would close his eyes and yearned for her presence. That's the place where he would relive their memories. He tried to reach her plenty of times, but she never answered the phone. Decided that his dream to reconcile their marriage was over, he went on several dates with many different ladies. However, it never went further than dinner— until his one night stand with Juvia that resulted in her pregnancy. He decided to start over his life and sell their house.

"I'm selling the house," was his brief answer.

"I know."

Another long pause. "I'll be there, then," said Laxus before he hang up the phone.

##

He took a long look at the front of his house. He didn't remember when was the last he visited this place. It never crossed his mind again that he would have to put his step on this house again.

He knocked the door. He didn't even know why he needed to knock his own house. But he just did.

Mirajane opened the door with a warm smile. "Laxus, Juvia's in our room."

Our room— how he hated that word coming from her mouth!

"Does she have fever?" he asked calmly.

Mirajane shook her head and walked towards the bedroom. "She's good. I changed her soaked clothes, and she's sleeping now."

He followed her to the bedroom, only to find Juvia was sleeping soundly in Mirajane's sleeping robe— that he once bought for his ex-wife.

He then picked her sleeping body up. "Thank you for taking her," he said quietly, didn't want to wake Juvia up. "But you'd better leave today. This house is on sale."

Her eyes were clear and unafraid. "Well, I'll be leaving soon. I just miss this place. It's used to be our home," she said, her voice thick with emotion.

His chest clenched. Her words struck him deep.

"What do you want?" he asked, his tone rough with emotions he must not yield to.

"I wish I knew what I wanted," she answered. There was a small note of sadness in her voice.

He made a mistake of allowing his eyes to meet hers. He saw the warmness and sadness in her pretty brown eyes, and felt the attraction, the passion. All the wonderful things they had once shared.

Just when he decided he didn't want to get involved with her anymore!

He reminded himself that he's no longer a careless, thoughtless young man who decided things based on feelings nor hormones.

He made commitment to marry the mother of his daughter, and he would be a fool to get involved with his ex-wife. After all, it was Mirajane who didn't want him in her life. But she easily stirred emotions he couldn't risk feeling.

This woman was dangerous.

Without saying another word, Laxus turned away from Mirajane and walked out the door of the bedroom without bothering to shut the door behind him.

 **a/n: is anyone still reading this?**


	12. Chapter 12

Juvia woke up to a ray of sunlight on her face. She blinked her eyes, and thought that she must be dreaming and that she shouldn't wake up now. Shortly after she closed her eyes, she heard a knock on her door.

It was Laxus, "Juvia are you alright?" he was asking.

"Juvia will be up in a little while," she replied. She remembered a dream. However, glancing at her new robe, she realized that it was not a dream, but an actual event.

How could she be in a sleeping robe when she was picking up Grain in the train station and she lost consciousness afterwards?

Like watching puzzled solved itself, Juvia could feel her face was flushed. She immediately ran towards the door only to open it frantically.

"Thought you still wanted to sleep."

"Why Juvia is in a sleeping robe? Did Laxus-sama change Juvia's clothes?" She asked meekly and looked very embarrassed.

Laxus furrowed his brows. "So what if I did? It's not like I've never seen you naked before."

Juvia looked up at him, surprised, and still felt so embarrassed. He had never been so blunt like this before. "B- but it's all accident," she murmured.

"It's not me. It's Mirajane, the woman who found you yesterday helped dressing you up."

She breathed a sigh of relief, and before she got the chance to spoke, Laxus continued, "I am sorry about yesterday. I was really harsh on you last night."

The tenderness in his voice tone aroused a sensation of warmth down her skin and made her apologetic at the same time, for all trouble she had made last night. She remembered that he called her plenty of times, and she always hang up the phone. "Juvia is also sorry too, she shouldn't just storm out like that." Her voice filled with guilt and pain, remembering that she didn't meet Gray last night.

She thought he would mock her, flourishing his triumph. He had warned her, yet she didn't listen. And she ended up in his place again.

Yet, he didn't

He bent down to gently patted her head, lowering his head beside her and saying, "I'm glad you are alright."

Before Juvia got the chance to reply him, Laxus scoffed, "Brush your teeth. Your breath stinks."

Terribly embarrassed, she immediately slammed the door closed, leaving Laxus chuckled.

##

Juvia's fingers flew over the keys of the computer's keyboard, but with her mind being elsewhere, she kept finding mistakes in her typing that she had to go back and fix. She couldn't worrying about Gray. She hadn't heard a word from him since last night. At first, she thought that Gray was just bailing out again. But the more she thought about it, the more worried she became. What if something bad happened to him, thus, he couldn't respond to her call. She would rather having Gray bailed out on her than anything bad happened to him.

"Juvia-san?"

She looked up to see the magnificent, warm smile of a beautiful woman who had saved her last night. Her jaw dropped and she immediately stood up from her chair.

"Mira-san, thank you so much for last night. Juvia is sorry that Juvia didn't get your phone number, and Juvia didn't bring the sleeping robe, and—"

Juvia was at a loss for words, but Mirajane just giggled.

"No need to be so formal, Juvia-san. I'm as surprised as you to see you here. I didn't know that you're Laxus' secretary."

Juvia was surprised by the mention of his name. She only called her boss by his first name, and she suddenly remembered that yesterday Laxus also only called her by her first name. Could it be that they were—?

"Is Laxus available?"

Her question snapped Juvia back before she could complete her train of thought.

"Laxus-sama's having a meeting now. But he should be soon."

Mirajane told her with a pleased smile. "Great, I'll wait until he comes back," she then continued, "Laxus is my ex-husband," she told Juvia as if she could read her mind.

Juvia's eyes widened, "Huh?"

"Just in case you're wondering," she smiled mischievously.

Juvia had worked for Laxus a little over a year and she heard rumors too about his ex-wife that they divorced because he found out his wife secretly worked as an escort. Mirajane was beautiful and she had delicious curve any woman would envy. Yet, Juvia didn't think that could be the reason of their divorce.

The next few silent seconds, Mirajane seemed to read her mind. A wounded smile tilted her lips. "I hope you're not thinking I am an escort," Mirajane said.

Felt compelled to speak before she got the wrong idea, Juvia replied, "No. Juvia doesn't think Mira-san is an escort. Mira-san has a gentle soul and Laxus-sama always mentioned Mira-san when he was—"

 _In bed with Juvia_. She didn't dare to continue her words.

"When he was?" Mirajane prompted.

"When he was working." She was trying to sound convincing, but she knew it was pathetic and insufficient, so she stopped.

"Mira, what are you doing here?"

Thank goodness Laxus appeared at the right time because Juvia already felt uncomfortable and awkward!

Mirajane smiled and told him, "I was just having a little conversation with Juvia-san. But now that you're here, we can talk."

Laxus nodded. "Sure, meet me in my office."

##

Laxus sat at his desk, looking tired. His hair was a mess, as if he had been running his finger through it constantly. "What's going on?" he began the conversation.

"Thank you for meeting me, despite your busyness."

He chuckled, tiredness seeping into his voice. "So what can I do for you, Mira?"

She raised her brow. Suddenly her tone changed dramatically and he heard a defensive Mirajane.

"You still haven't changed. You always assume I want something from you."

He sighed. "It's because you've never answered my call and suddenly you came into town."

She looked wildly at Laxus then she calmed herself, apologized to him. "I'm sorry about that. I heard your voice mail, but I never answered." Her voice was full of longing and unshed tears, "I just didn't have the courage to answer your call."

They were both silent before her voice finally broke. "I always blamed you when everything fell apart because I didn't want to take responsibility of my own fault. What I did to you was horrible and unforgivable. I didn't deserve to be your wife."

He heard the sincerity in her words. Moved by her words, he couldn't respond. Thus, all he could do was wrapping her in his arms. She laid her head against her chest, and listened to the steady thump of his heart.

"I was also at fault. I was a horrible husband. I promised to bring you happiness, but I failed you. I'm sorry."

Mirajane cried. She didn't want to, tried to hold it back. She'd cried too many times and wasted too much tears. But she cried anyway, silent tears that burned her eyes and scorched her skin.

"I'm sorry I'm still a crier," she said between her tears, and she could feel him smiling in reply, "That's okay. I'm used to it."

##

Juvia glanced over her phone. It was already late and Laxus still didn't show up. She knew he had been busy for the past few days, and she also worked late with him. However, today he firmly instructed her to go home on time.

She waited in the dining room. It felt awkward to eat by herself when she's used to eat with Laxus. So she decided not to eat until he's back. She then began to wonder, "Did they make up?"

She then slapped her own cheek as she was struck by a realization that she should be thinking of something more important— What happened to Gray?!

She already tried to reach Natsu and Gajeel, but nobody answered. She should try to reach them again. So she did.

But nothing new— nobody responded to her call.

She laid down on the couch and she sighed deeply, "When is Laxus-sama back?"  
Her eyes widened as she searched her mind frantically for a way out of her predicament. Did she just develop Attention Deficit Disorder? It was literally just few seconds ago that she called Natsu and Gajeel, and now her mind quickly switched to Laxus.

But it's already midnight and he never worked this late. What if anything bad also happened with Laxus? Juvia immediately raised from the couch and frantically put on the coat. She needed to find him like what he did before. She believed she owed him one and she should reply his kindness because that's what normal people would do, right?

As she opened the door, she saw Laxus stood there.

Laxus narrowed his eyes, "You're not trying to escape again, are you?"  
Her cheeks reddened like tomatoes as if she was caught. "Juvia never tried to escape. Did Laxus-sama already eat?"

"Yea, it's already midnight, duh."

She scoffed and walked towards the dining room. Laxus raised his brow and wondered what happened with Juvia. Was she still on mood swing due to pregnancy hormones? He followed her and asked, "Hey, what's going on?"

Before she got the chance to answer him, her phone rang. She saw the name on the screen— Gajeel.

She immediately answered the call. "Gajeel?"

Huh, another man? Gajeel?

Laxus was too distracted to listen to their conversation. He wondered why she called him only by his first name. That sounded so intimate, especially for a woman like Juvia, who loved to use honorifics to everyone.

He stared at her long enough that he realized her expression changed. She hang up the phone and she looked sad. "Juvia will clean up the dining room tomorrow morning," she said weakly.

"Hey, are you okay?" He sounded concerned.

Juvia nodded, "yea, Juvia just needs some time alone." She then walked towards her room, leaving Laxus confused.

And _worried_.

 **a/n: thank you guest, Cursedmidna, audrav2, guest, Esketit, claudiocorvo, eparise, Star197, thundergodlaxus, ILikeBeInMe2411, 17, gaby1919, and TheLonelySelf for responding. It's really awesome to know that you guys still read this fic. I want you guys to know that this fic's updated because of your support, so thank you so much!**

 **However, I'll be starting my online degree program next month (I'm super excited! I cannot wait to get a new job once I've upgraded my degree lol) so update might be super slow. Once again, thank you for reading this fic**


	13. Chapter 13

A sharp knock at her bedroom door woke Juvia from a deep sleep. She glanced at her alarm and her eyes widened: it's 6 am! She always set her alarm to five and apparently she forgot to do it yesterday. She frantically put her blanket away and opened the door quickly, only to find Laxus standing there.

"Laxus-sama?"

Her eyes were puffy and red. She looked as if she had been crying the entire night. He knew she did. He could hear her crying from his room. There was a deep feeling of sadness in his heart for her. And a strong feeling of animosity towards the man responsible for her tears. He didn't exactly know why she cried. But his best bet was her Gray-sama. Even though Juvia didn't tell him what happened the night when she fainted at the train station, he knew that Gray wasn't there. He didn't know why he didn't show up nor he cared why, but Laxus knew Juvia didn't deserve such dreadful treatment.

"Breakfast's ready. After this let's go to the office."

Before she could reply, he immediately added, "I'll give you a ride."

When Juvia walked to the dining room, she was surprised that the mess she made last night was cleaned. She then saw Laxus walking in to the dining room after making some coffee.

"Thank you, Laxus-sama, for cleaning up the mess Juvia made," she whispered.

"No, I'm sorry that I didn't tell you that I would be back late," he said, taking a sip of coffee. "I was with Mira yesterday," he continued.

Juvia probably didn't care whom he had dinner with, but he wanted to be honest with her-to get everything out in the open. He was not the type of person who could give himself to a woman openly and honestly. Yet, he decided he needed to change if he wanted to earn her trust.

"Did Laxus-sama make up with Mira-san last night?

He paused before he replied, "No."

Juvia struggled to make sense of his tone. He sounded so sure. So confident.

"Juvia thought Laxus-sama is still in love with Mira-san," she asked, her voice barely a whisper.

"Yes, I still love her, Juvia. But I'm not going to make decision based on my feeling."

So calm and firm and full of assurance was his tone. He knew she still wanted to ask him more and more questions.

"Finish your breakfast first, or else we'll be late."

She knew they wouldn't be late. But they had to get there early before anyone else in their office would. Because love relationship between office personnel were strictly forbidden.

She nodded and continued her breakfast. Laxus was looking at her for a moment. He didn't know if it's the right decision to let go Mirajane for Juvia and their unborn child. Regardless, he had made the decision and he would have to live with that.

##

" _Thank you for meeting me for dinner," Mirajane said with a smile._

" _Too bad Cana is not working today, huh?" Laxus answered, drinking his whiskey._

 _They had dinner at the bar where they met for the first time. It's been a while since Laxus stopped by for a drink in this bar. It's used to be his favorite bar. He almost hang out in this place every after work when he's still single. But since he had lived with Juvia, he didn't go back to the bar. Because it's nicer to share dinner with Juvia at home than drinking by himself in the bar._

" _Yea, but I'll meet Cana tomorrow," she said, looking at the last sip of wine she was swirling in her glass. She seemed to be lost in her deepest thought before she continued, "What's your relationship with Juvia?"_

 _He glanced at her. "One night stand that resulted in her pregnancy."_

 _Mirajane laughed. Not at him. It's the irony. She's laughing at the irony and irony, was by far, the best humor. They were married for five years and they had tried everything to make her pregnant. Starting from injection to IVF. Anything to make her pregnant. When that day finally came, she lost their unborn child. And it only took Juvia one night to get pregnant with her ex-husband._

" _I knew she's pregnant. I could see her baby bumps when I changed her clothes."_

 _She then looked up at him deeply. "Do you love her?"_

 _Laxus said the word, he knew it to be true. "No."_

" _I'm sure thought that you loved her. You're so concerned about her that night."_

 _He picked up the bottle of wine on the table next to him. "You want a little more?"_

 _She held out her glass, but gave him a look that let him know she was still waiting for an answer._

 _And he knew… she wanted to meet him for an answer, about their relationship._

" _She's a pain in the ass, but she carries my child."_

" _We still can raise your child together, can't we?" she asked in a pleading tone._

 _The vulnerability in her look-as if the whole world depended on the answer he gave her- surprised him._

 _What suddenly changed her mind? She was the one who cut off all the ties with him before._

" _I thought you still love me."_

" _Mira, it's not working out for us. You know that better than anyone else."_

 _She scoffed. Tears welled in her eyes, and she cut her gaze to her hands. When she spoke again, her voice was soft, but sharp, edged with pain. "Why you don't want to give us a chance?"_

" _Mira, my decision is not based on feeling anymore. It's a commitment. I have made commitment to raise my daughter with Juvia."_

" _But Juvia doesn't want any of that— She told me that she was waiting for a man that she loved and cherished at that damn train station."_

" _She can decide whatever she wants, but I have my decision too," he answered between his teeth._

" _So we won't have any chance, then," she concluded with sipping another glass of wine. Her legs curled up beneath her on the couch. Laxus used to picture her like that in his sofa at their home, and he still did. Just now._

 _And he knew it was the whiskey playing with his brain._

 _No more drinking with her. Just this night._

" _If only I didn't push you away from my life."_

 _He heard a tinge of bitterness in her tone. He wondered the same, if only she didn't push him away from her life, maybe his life would be different from today. But he doubted it would get any better._

 _He said nothing. Just left her statement lying between them._

 _##_

It was 7 pm. Juvia was still in her desk, wondered if Laxus wanted to go home now. Everyone had left earlier since it's Friday, and actually she already finished her work at 6. But Laxus told her to wait for him before she left. So she waited and waited.

Fifteen minutes later, Laxus came out of his office. "Juvia, let's go."

She nodded and she followed him to the parking lot.

He started the engine once they got into the car. "Juvia, we're going to Balsam Village."

She raised her brows, "huh?"

"It's the best place for hot spring and spa. I think we both need a little vacation."

Her eyes widened. "Laxus-sama is joking, right?"

"No, I'm serious. We're not going home tonight. Let's spend two nights there, and we'll get back on Sunday."

"But Juvia doesn't bring any clothes."

"Neither do I. We can buy some clothes in the inn. They sell everything."

"So Laxus-sama was planning all of it for the past one hour?"

Laxus nodded. "Yeah, we need to get out of city for a while, right?"

"Juvia—" she trailed off, but she didn't say anything else. Maybe her boss was right. She thought to herself that she just needed a little vacation to clear her head. To not think of Gray again.

##

 **PS: I am excited about their little vacation, and I will try to update it before April :D**

 **Thank you for the review ILikeBeinMe2411, KarinaLockser, mayu87, AlienfromNorth. Your reviews totally made my day :D**


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